05-14-2008, 03:40 PM
You can blue a blade with oil. Heat it, dip it. The smoke is horrendous, mind you!! If you heat iron in a forge, it oxidizes and comes out "forge blackened". OK to leave a spearhead that way, cause you would not waste much time on the finish other then sharpening the edges and tip, but all blades were ground and the end product is "shiny". The question is, HOW shiny. Polishing the blade with modern techniques will create an unrealistic mirror finish, chrome-plating even more so. The difference should be telling, but I do not have a quick test and would like one. Is there a scratch test one can do to tell the difference between chrome-plated and highly polished?
